J.H. ex rel. Holman v. Just for Kids, Inc.

248 F. Supp. 3d 1210, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49099
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedMarch 30, 2017
DocketCase No. 2:16-cv-00358-JNP-DBP
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 248 F. Supp. 3d 1210 (J.H. ex rel. Holman v. Just for Kids, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J.H. ex rel. Holman v. Just for Kids, Inc., 248 F. Supp. 3d 1210, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49099 (D. Utah 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING 12(b)(6) MOTION TO DISMISS

Jill N. Parrish, United States District Court Judge

Before the court is a Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendant Just for Kids, Inc. pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). (Docket No. 6). Defendant asks this court to dismiss Plaintiff J.H.’s complaint under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181, et seq., because, inter alia, it is not subject to the prohibitions of the ADA. Recounted below are Plaintiffs well-pleaded allegations, which the court accepts as true and construes in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff. See Cressman v. Thompson, 719 F.3d 1139, 1152 (10th Cir. 2013) (requiring this approach at the motion-to-dismiss stage).

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is an individual with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that is often associated with developmental delays and some level of intellectual disability.1 Plaintiff also has diabetes mellitus type 1, which she treats through the use of an insulin pump that regulates her blood glucose level. In order to properly manage her diabetes, Plaintiff must regularly monitor her [1213]*1213blood glucose level through self-administered blood samples.

Defendant is a non-profit corporation based in the' State of Utah that administers the Habilitation Independence Vocation Education Socialization (“HIVEs”) program. According to Plaintiff, Defendant uses “its own vans” to provide “educational activity services and transportation services ... to adult individuals with intellectual disabilities.” (Docket No. 2, at 3). The complaint suggests that the HIVEs program involves supervision and instruction of a group of participants by “HIVEs instructors” or “teachers.” (See id., at 4). In a letter to Plaintiff referenced in the complaint,2 Defendant describes the HIVEs program as follows:

HIVEs is an educational activity program for adults with disabilities. The mission statement of HIVEs is to promote independent life skills and provide opportunities for adults with disabilities to build self-determination by providing, among other things, a safe, independence-oriented environment for people with disabilities as well as affordable community-based respite for parents of children with disabilities. HIVEs accomplishes these objectives by exposing its participants to various community resources and activities such as swimming at the Lehi Legacy Center, eating out, going to the library, participating in physical fitness activities at the American Fork City recreation center, visiting homes for the elderly, and other activi-. ties.
HIVEs does not own any real estate. It does not have a school or similar facility of its own. It operates by picking up program participants from their homes in HIVE[s]-owned vans, which transport them to the various planned activities for the day, and then return them home at the end of the day.

(Docket No. 6-7, at 3).

Plaintiff has participated in the HIVEs program for approximately ten years. In [1214]*1214March of 2016, Plaintiff’s mother contacted the director of Defendant and the HIVEs program, Michelle Holbrook, to report her concerns regarding the safety of Plaintiff during her regular blood glucose'checks. Plaintiffs mother was primarily concerned that HIVEs instructors were allowing Plaintiff to check her blood glucose levels away from the other participants and without adequate supervision. Ms. Holbrook relayed these concerns to the instructors who supervised Plaintiffs participation in the program and requested a face-to-face meeting with Plaintiffs parents to further discuss “safety and supervision” in the program. However, just prior to the planned meeting, Ms. Holbrook e-mailed Plaintiffs mother, and indicated that Plaintiffs “medical needs are beyond, the ability of HIVEs instructors to manage.” (Docket No. 2, at 4). Ms. Holbrook informed Plaintiffs mother that their planned meeting was cancelled and that Plaintiff would not be allowed to participate in the program after April 1,2016.

Shortly after this exchange, Plaintiffs mother contacted Defendant through counsel, arguing that Defendant’s exclusion of Plaintiff from the HIVEs program violated Title III of the ADA and specifically requesting that Plaintiff be allowed to reenter the program. Defendant responded through counsel that Title Ill’s prohibitions were not applicable to the HIVEs program and that the program simply could not accommodate Plaintiffs needs. Plaintiff has not participated in the-HIVEs program since April 1,2016,

Plaintiff, through her mother and legal guardian, filed a complaint against Defendant on May 2, 2016, alleging that Defendant’s conduct in excluding her from the HIVEs program violated Title III of the ADA and requesting declaratory and in-junctive relief. (Docket No. 2). On May 31, 2016, Defendant filed the instant Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), arguing that Plaintiffs complaint failed to state a claim, under Title III. (Docket No. 6). Plaintiff filed a memorandum in opposition to Plaintiffs Motion on July 7, 2016. (Docket No. 9). Defendant filed a reply on July 21, 2016. (Docket No. 10). The court held oral argument on the Motion on October . 3, 2016. (Docket No. 16). After oral argument, the court ordered simultaneous supplemental briefing on whether the prohibitions of . Title III extended beyond physical places and whether the HIVEs. program fell within those prohibitions. (Docket No. 15). Plaintiff and Defendant each submitted a supplemental memorandum on October 17, 2016. (Docket Nos. 19, 20). Each party also submitted a reply to these memoranda on October 24,2016. (Docket Nos. 21,22). The court now considers the arguments of the parties under jurisdiction granted by 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

DISCUSSION .

The ADA was enacted “in 1990 to remedy widespread discrimination against disabled individuals.” PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661, 674, 121 S.Ct. 1879, 149 L.Ed.2d 904 (2001). Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination “on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.” 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a). A private entity is considered a “public accommodation” if 1) its operations affect commerce and 2) the entity or its facilities fall into one of twelve general definitional categories. See § 12181(7). Each definitional- category includes several enumerated examples of qualifying entities, but these examples “aren’t exhaustive; rather-they serve as mere illustrations” of the category itself. See Levorsen v. Octapharma Plasma, Inc., [1215]*1215828 F.3d 1227, 1230 (10th Cir.

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248 F. Supp. 3d 1210, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jh-ex-rel-holman-v-just-for-kids-inc-utd-2017.